UKC

I need a 50mm hole in some masonry. Does anyone know if a core drill bit can be used with a standard(mains power) electric drill.

Thanks.

Sorry but it does depend on the drill and the chuck,  ie plain or SDS. 

For only one 50mm hole, stitch drilling might be easier? Core bits can struggle unless you have a really beefy drill to drive them

"Plain" hence my use of "standard"

Depends on the drills power then assuming that the core bit you get fits the chuck diameter....as they vary.

One hole, if it were me I would stitch drill it if I had to get a core bit specially 

You can use them but it's not recommended. A standard electric drill is generally too fast, doesn't have enough torque and they are difficult to control as a result. If it's only a cheap drill it'll probably knacker the bearings as well and that's if the core drill bit will fit the chuck to start with. Your best bet is probably to hire the drill bits and drill, probably only be £30 for both. 

you might find it easier to remove the brick, lop it in half, or into bits and replace.

it's a bit dependent on the quality of the "finish" you want.

the majority of core bits are for SDS drills (get an SDS drill)

it's possible to find stuff that'll work with a normal drill: this kit has a plain hex-shank adaptor which you would need with non-SDS drill:

https://www.toolstation.com/tct-core-drill-kit/p53456

it'll be slow going - and the chances are the cheap bit will be totally blunt after one use....

or:

https://www.toolstation.com/professional-dry-diamond-core-drill/p37363

https://www.toolstation.com/diamond-core-drill-hex-adaptor-pack/p76774

N.B. get a high quality mask (rubber frame with replaceable filters) and wear it properly!!!

You can get an SDS drill from as little as £40

https://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/sds-drills/cat830818#category=cat830818&am...

Don't know how good the cheapest one is but if it's the same price as a hire drill and you use it more than once you're up.

If you think you'll use it a bit I'd recommend the Titan one for £60, they stand up to a lot of abuse and make any drilling into masonry much easier.

I would recommend this one too, even though I broke the first one it had had some serious abuse and because it's their own brand and was only 18 months old they replaced it on the spot with no hassle at all.

Go to your local hire shop & hire an SDS drill and 50mm core bit. I’ve only done 100mm cores, and the drill they gave me was a pretty serious bit of kit with a 110v transformer but it did the job, at a price less than the cost of a SDS drill from Machine Mart.

50mm is not very big, but even so I'd want an SDS drill for it.

Hiring is the eco option, but TBH cost wise it's actually cheaper to buy a suitable drill. It sounds ridiculous but I recently had to do this and I went through the options and by the time I'd factored in delivery and collection it was cheaper to buy a suitable drill than rent one. 

What is the "masonry"? Brick, block or stone? If stone, proper Trawsfynydd stone 😁, an ordinary drill will not scratch it and the problem with drilling old stone walls - even with a core drill. is that the voids and rubble in the middle make it a difficult job. Often find it easier to remove some smaller stone with a pinch bar and work my way through from either side and re-build. 

I've done a lot of drilling into concrete and rock this last year and based on my experience, I can't imagine a normal drill having any luck cutting a hole that big in Concrete, it's just not the right tool for the job. Even just making 14mm holes, I've generally had to go 6mm, then 8, 10, 12, 14 in turn to get a hole with a normal drill (using hammer setting). Obviously a core bit is not trying to grind out the full 50mm hole, just the rim round the outside but I still think that if you try, you will likely get nowhere and/or break the drill (I killed a normal drill that didn't even last half a day with small masonry bits).

I actually wanted to exactly what you want to do a few months ago only with an 80mm hole and after a bit of research and experimentation and thinking I gave up and found an alternative.

Good luck!

Engineering brick

I have the older version of the screwfix Titan SDS drill. A very useful bit of kit, bit of a lump but does the job and has had a lot of abuse. Even if it's just to drill the one hole at the moment, the OP will find it makes drilling brick and concrete so much easier and the chisel function is great for wall chasing and general breaking out. It might not get a lot of use by the OP, but will come in handy for other jobs.

You can do a 50mm hole with a core driil and a decent battery drill on a slow speed through a couple of bricks.

If your going through a metre of concrete you'll want something a bit bigger.

I did a 120mm hole through our wall a couple of months ago using a cheap core drill from screwfix and a standard electric drill, with low speed, and have put 100mm holes using a hole saw through 12mm steel with a battery drill no problem. Just take your time and don't try to force it. 

Engineering bricks are bloody tough and also very brittle. Drilling any kind of hole in them is a bit of a nightmare as they can shatter. Cheap drills/drill bits just won't work, or will be completely ruined in the process. Knowing that's the material, I'd be even more inclined to go down the hire route, you'll get a pro grade core bit and a specific core drill for the same cost of buying just the core. (I am a bit biased as I have a very local hire shop)   

It may be easier to just cut out a whole brick to make your opening. 

Just to emphasise what others are saying - if you are going to do any significant amount of masonry drilling, and not just this one job you really need to buy an SDS drill. You won't regret it.

Mine has a hammer only (no rotation) setting for which you can get a cold chisel bit. Great tool for amateur DIY.

If you do use a core bit . Male sure the drill has a clutch. If the core bit gets caught the drill will try and rip your arm off, you can get away with it if you are lucky and very careful but as always with these things, I was getting away with it until I got blasé and then the inevitable happened and I knackered my wrist but it could have easily been broken.

Just to emphasize this point A LOT, I was drilling out a core through the double skin of the kitchen out to the outhouse to route extensions for the washing machine and tumble dryer without having to do electrics and plumbing. 

Reader, the core bit snagged, the clutch didn't do its thing, the drill body whipped around, the handle cracked me on the chin and gave me a nasty fracture and nudged a few teeth out of place.

It hurt, I think I shed a tear!

By an SDS drill - they are a phenomenally useful tool.

Maybe stating the bl**din obvious, but when cutting a core you twist not hammer and you need some water. For this perhaps you can get away with stopping and squirting with a plant sprayer and doing a little more and squirting again, it's not the same as a real coring rig and a big pumped water bottle, but I *assume* you are putting 1 pipe through 1 wall and that's all you need total?  50mm isn't that huge. See if you can get a really long 8mm drill bit (like 450 or whatever you need for your wall) and put that through the wall first - break through gently so as not to dinner plate on exit then you can core from each side in the exact correct place. Sod's law if it's near the bottom of a cavity wall something will drop down in your way when you try to shove the waste pipe through, you'll enjoy the experience, STAY CALM 

Depends what core bit you have, don't hammer a diamond bit, hammer with some carbide bits.

and you need some water.

Again, depends on the bit, some diamond bits say to use dry and other wet.

What I'm saying I guess is read the user manual.